Lane Kiffin Archives

EXCLUSIVE: Lane Kiffin on Twitter Controversy, Why He Chose FAU over Bigger Programs

May 4, 2017 By patrick pierce Leave a Comment

Roughly a decade ago, Lane Kiffin became one of the youngest head coaches in NFL history at age 31 when he accepted the Oakland Raiders.

Since then he’s had short stints at Tennessee, USC and Alabama. After departing from the Crimson Tide earlier this year, Kiffin was offered a number of opportunities at powerhouse college football programs all across the country. Thus, many were a bit surprised when he chose Florida Atlantic University over the more brand name programs.

What made FAU more appealing? We asked Lane Kiffin this exact question during our exclusive with the Owls Head Coach.

[Read more…]

Follow paulmbanks

Filed Under: College Football, Las Vegas Raiders, NFL, Tech Tagged With: Lane Kiffin

Illini WR Mike Dudek: rare bright spot in lost season

November 17, 2014 By patrick pierce 6 Comments

Champaign, IL- While your statistics professor might give you a decent argument disputing it, Saturday’s loss to Iowa effectively ended the season for the Fighting Illini. Sitting at 4-5, Tim Beckman’s squad needed to win two games to gain bowl eligibility; the team’s primary goal for the 2014 season.

For three quarters, it looked like the Illini might actually notch number five, but the fourth quickly reminded the 50,373 frozen fans (and the thousands of fraternity and sorority members choosing to watch the game at Joe’s and Red Lion instead) that both wins and bowl games in the Tim Beckman era of Illinois Football are not easy to come by.

[Read more…]

Follow paulmbanks

Filed Under: Illinois Fighting Illini Tagged With: b1G, beckman, Big Ten, Dudek, Fighting Illini, Illinois, illinois football, iowa, iowa football, Lane Kiffin, memorial stadium, Mike Dudek, Naperville, neuqua valley, tim beckman, U of I, Wes Lunt

The Minnesota Vikings Christmas List

December 18, 2011 By paulmbanks Leave a Comment

When a team has been victorious in only two of its thirteen regular season games, there is obviously tremendous room for growth. This necessitates a long list for Santa Claus. Hopefully the printed out version of this arrives on time, with all of the doom and gloom surrounding the U.S. Postal Service. Maybe I will have to track down his e-mail address.

Previously, I have addressed the injury situation in the secondary. I made the pronouncement that the team should fix this with their first round pick. Conventional wisdom dictates that the team will have the pick of the litter due to their lackluster play. If the brass isn’t certain about which way to go, trading the selection or selecting a different position makes sense. This pick is even more valuable with the new salary cap, so the long-term success of the organization rests largely on this.

[Read more…]

Follow paulmbanks

Filed Under: NFL, NFL Draft Tagged With: Adrian Peterson, Bernard Berrian, Christian Ponder, fantasy football, kyle rudolph, Lane Kiffin, Mall of America, Matt Barkley, Sandra Bullock, Santa Claus, Tim McGraw, USC

Finally! The Irish beat the Trojans … yes, I mean ND vs. USC

November 28, 2010 By paulmbanks Leave a Comment

He came to Notre Dame four years ago to win and make a difference on the field. Many would argue that he never came close to his goal … until tonight.

Robert Hughes’ heart, soul and determination led the Irish to their first victory over Southern Cal in the past nine years.He was benched more than once during his career. He was in South Bend when his brother was murdered. He watched his team fall apart … year after year …

But he never gave up.

And then, when it mattered the most, he stepped up and led his beloved Irish to victory.

By: Brian McCabe

[Read more…]

Follow paulmbanks

Filed Under: College Football, Notre Dame Tagged With: armando allen notre dame, Bob Davie, Brian Kelly, Charlie Weis, Independent football, Lane Kiffin, notre dame football, Pac 10 football, pete carroll, robert hughes, South Bend, Tommy Rees, Tyrone Willingham, USC football

Notre Dame vs USC…was good once as it ever was…and still is

November 26, 2010 By paulmbanks 1 Comment

It has been 22 years since this game actually mattered.

Today, it is a battle of mediocrity.

What the hell happened to Notre Dame vs. USC?

What happened is that this rivalry has not really mattered in a generation.

It might have mattered to the fans, but not to the polls, where it really counts.

Never mind it’s one-loss record in 2002 entering the final game, Notre Dame was a joke of a squad. And the Carson-Palmer-led Trojans proved that point rather quickly.

The Irish have not defeated USC since Pete Carroll’s inaugural season in 2001. Recently, only the 2005 match-up proved to be an engaging game. Though USC did cheat to win that game (re: the “Bush Push”), no Notre Dame squad has been able to challenge the Trojans in a decade.

By Brian McCabe

[Read more…]

Follow paulmbanks

Filed Under: College Football, Notre Dame Tagged With: ABC, ABC football, Brian Kelly, college football rivalries, ESPN, ESPN football, Lane Kiffin, Lane Kiffin recruiting, Notre Dame, notre dame football, Notre Dame scandal, USC, USC football, usc-notre dame rivalry

Notre Dame, Michigan among traditional powers experiencing a down year

November 24, 2010 By paulmbanks Leave a Comment

Tradition is one the most attractive and engaging part of sports. The pageantry of a band, the pregame festivities and the engaging mascots lure in fans and grasp their attention.

In no sport is this truer than college football.

The University of Texas lights up the crowd by having Bevo the Bull charge onto the field with the team.

The University of Miami players take the field through a plume of smoke.

The Michigan Wolverines run out under the long, yellow banner that the players jump up and slap.

USC’s Trojan Band plays “Tribute to Troy” 30 minutes before kickoff while the bandleader stabs the middle of the 50-yard-line with his sword.

Notre Dame players slap the ever-famous “Play Like a Champion Today” sign when walking down the stairs from the locker room.

By: Brian McCabe

[Read more…]

Follow paulmbanks

Filed Under: College Football, Michigan Wolverines, Notre Dame Tagged With: college football powerhouses mediocre, Lane Kiffin, Miami football, michigan football, michigan struggling, Michigan Wolverines, nd football down, notre dame football, notre dame football struggles, rich rod bad, rich rod struggling, Rich Rodriguez, Texas football, traditional college football powers down, traditional powers struggling, USC football, usc football down, usc football struggling

Tim Brewster’s Struggles Continue vs. USC

September 19, 2010 By paulmbanks Leave a Comment

Tim Brewster came to Minneapolis with the reputation as a top notch recruiter who would bring college football excitement and energy back to the Golden Gophers’ program. To those Minnesota faithful who have seen this before, with none other than Jim Wacker, the hiring was puzzling.

This is especially the case when Gary Patterson, head coach of Texas Christian, and Lane Kiffin, USC’s current head coach, interviewed for the job. Joel Maturi must take some of the blame for this debacle.

By Patrick Herbert

[Read more…]

Follow paulmbanks